If you didn’t jump on an Alpha A33 when you had the chance, you’ll probably be disappointed when your eyes glaze over the next few words — Sony has discontinued production of the translucent mirror-packed shooter. On its site, the company has noted that production has halted in Japan, without specific reasoning as to why — though some might say that overheating sensor was just too much to bear. It’s not often that a seven month-old DSLR gets canned, but if Sony’s got a refined sensor waiting in a doubly refined successor… well, that’ll put a plug in the waterworks real quick. Sony kills A33 DSLR production, auctions off unused birthday cake originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Apparently a $34,000 price tag isn’t exclusive enough for you to nab one of the first 100 Think City electric vehicles — fancy that! The aforementioned sticker is meant only for normal retail versions of the green-machine, a version that just so happens to not truly exist in any meaningful form. To be one of those lucky 100 bringing home the first available Think City vehicles, you’ll have to cough up a decidedly heftier chunk of change — $41,695 to be exact. In addition to these inaugural models, Think City is adding another set of prices for lucky folks living in Indiana ( the first state to acquire these cars), where the normal production electric eco-transports are apparently selling for just $30,050. ‘Course, all this scrutiny over MSRPs is apt to be for naught when gas creeps up to six bucks a gallon, but hey, that would never happen in our lifetime. Right ? Think City’s EVs get priced… sort of originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 02:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Although eBay figures don’t exactly correlate with Apple’s sales numbers, it’s interesting to note who’s buying what, and where. Last year, for example, in the first two weeks after the Apple iPad hit shelves, 65 percent of all iPads sold on eBay went abroad. This year, in the same timeframe, the percentages have been flipped — 65 percent of iPad 2s sold on eBay remained in America, or around 7,800 tablets. Perhaps we’re just seeing higher demand or maybe people don’t like waiting in line . Peep the source link to dive deeper into the comparison. Visualized: eBay’s iPad 2 sales, thus far originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 21:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Android’s in-app billing makes a dent: Dungeon Defenders free on Android Market
April 2, 2011 No Comment
Dungeon Defenders: First Wave cost $3 when it first came out. This week, the iOS version will cost you ninety-nine cents. But if you want to play the Unreal Engine-powered tower defense game today, you can have it for free. Developer Trendy Entertainment has decided to try leaning on Android’s new in-app billing system to pay for the whole thing. We can’t give Trendy all the credit, of course, as Glu Mobile’s Gun Bros and Tapulous’ Tap Tap Revenge 4 are doing the same thing, but to our knowledge both of them were free to play from day one. Free-to-play gaming has been a controversial proposition in the console and PC gaming space — most publishers would just like to sell a game once, and call it a day. On phone, however, where apps are expected to be cheap, it could indeed make more sense to charge users for items and upgrades than to have users “buy” the game. Either way, we penny-pinchers are pleased as punch with the idea. PR after the break. Continue reading Android’s in-app billing makes a dent: Dungeon Defenders free on Android Market Android’s in-app billing makes a dent: Dungeon Defenders free on Android Market originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 23:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The future of the Zune as a standalone media player is still a little in doubt , but its future of being able to send crucially important e-mails and, in return, get a boatload of spam is now fully assured. A free e-mail app has been added to the Zune Marketplace supporting Gmail, Windows Live Mail, and of course good ‘ol POP3 accounts. Unfortunately all we have to gaze upon is that tiny screenshot over on the right, but it certainly looks familiar enough to fit right into the Zune ecosphere without making any waves. Just make sure you don’t go looking for your Steely Dan collection inside the unread folder. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Zune HD finally gets an e-mail application, still waiting on a future originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …3DxWare 10 lets 3D mice work in 2D apps, leaves your standard mouse feeling a bit flat (video)
April 2, 2011 No Comment
Your standard mouse may do it on the table, but 3D mice do it with extra dimension — some of the time, anyway. Quit 3ds Max and suddenly you have one axis too many on your hands. After all, the vast majority of applications are 2D to match mice that may exist in a 3D reality but in reality are limited to a decidedly dual-dimensional existence. No more. 3Dconnexion, makers of a couple different controllers with depth , has released 3DxWare, a Mac or Windows driver that enables exciting 3D mice to work with boring 2D apps. The first video after the break shows some one-handed zooming and browsing, while the second has you cutting and mixing in Final Cut Pro — again with nary a keyboard or controller in sight. The software is free if you have a compatible mouse, but if not you’ll be paying between $99 and $399 for a suitably compliant critter. Continue reading 3DxWare 10 lets 3D mice work in 2D apps, leaves your standard mouse feeling a bit flat (video) 3DxWare 10 lets 3D mice work in 2D apps, leaves your standard mouse feeling a bit flat (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 20:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …SYNC’s second version off to a buggy start, Ford fixes with Ctrl-Alt-Delete
April 2, 2011 No Comment
With it being ordered in 80 percent of its 2011 models , SYNC’s been a boon to Ford’s bottom line, but it’s not all peaches and cream for the Dearborn crew’s connectivity platform. Our friends at Autoblog are reporting that the second generation of the infotainment software has a nasty little habit of restarting itself when something goes wrong with one of the applications. Doesn’t sound like such a big deal, except these automatic reboots take several minutes (an eternity if you’re relying on the GPS to get you around), and the system tends to misplace your indexed music and linked phone info while fixing itself. Apparently, the only other way to deal with such glitches is to take afflicted autos to a dealer for a full-on software reinstall or reinitialization — why Ford and Microsoft went the Ctrl-Alt-Delete route instead of finding a more user-friendly solution, we’ll probably never know. The Blue Oval boys claim that Autoblog’s experience was atypical, but have nonetheless rolled out software updates to alleviate the problems. Hopefully, it’s enough to stop SYNC systems from doing the Force Close dance. SYNC’s second version off to a buggy start, Ford fixes with Ctrl-Alt-Delete originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Nike+ SportWatch GPS now on sale, $199 adds geek cred to your workout routine
April 2, 2011 No Comment
Wrist-mounted iPod nano not quite the running companion of which you’d originally dreamed? This Nike+ SportsWatch GPS will be happy to take its place. We spotted the TomTom-branded fitness watch at CES this year , and now it’s formally on sale — though unfortunately for a price far steeper than those of its immediate ancestors . Of course, the $199 band isn’t just a replacement for the Nike+ iPod system, it also uses that onboard GPS to keep track of where you run, much like the Nike+ GPS app but without the necessity for an iPhone 4 bouncing around your person. Did we mention it’s also a watch? [Thanks, John S.] Nike+ SportWatch GPS now on sale, $199 adds geek cred to your workout routine originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 17:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …James Cameron ponders 48 or 60fps shooting of future Avatar films, because he’s trendy like that
April 2, 2011 No Comment
Oh, Jameson. You trendy, trendy trendsetter . After coercing the entire world of cinema to bow down and worship the art of 3D, it looks as if James Cameron will soon be spearheading the effort to back away from the tried-and-true 24fps shooting method in favor of far faster options. The Hollywood Reporter is claiming that Cameron copped to the idea of shooting Avatar 2 and 3 at higher frame rates, likely 48fps or 60fps. The reason? It’ll provide an “added sense of reality,” and it’ll probably create a wave of new camcorders, software and plug-ins to handle the dirty work. Onward and upward, we suppose. James Cameron ponders 48 or 60fps shooting of future Avatar films, because he’s trendy like that originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Kia’s really been cranking out the cute little concepts lately, and they unveiled another one today at the Seoul Motor Show. Dubbed the Naimo, this four suicide-door EV is trimmed to the nines with tech, including an “air wiper” — a powerful air jet at the base of the windshield — instead of regular squeegees, mini cameras in the A-pillar instead of sideview mirrors, and a transparent OLED instrument panel. Get up and go is provided by an 80kW motor and a 27 kWh Lithium ion polymer battery pack, a combo that hustles you up to 93mph and gets you 124 miles on a charge thanks to some fancy low-drag alloy dubs — though we’re pretty sure it can’t do both at the same time. We like the looks of this slick little four-seater, but time will tell if the Naimo ever actually hits the streets. Check the gallery below, and press release after the break. Gallery: Kia Naimo at Seoul Auto Show 2011 Continue reading Kia Naimo concept EV debuts: 93mph, 124-mile range, and suicide doors Kia Naimo concept EV debuts: 93mph, 124-mile range, and suicide doors originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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